Simmons



UNITED STATES PATENT, OEEIcE.

GEORGE \VASHINGTON SIMMONS, OF CONYERS, GEORGIA.

COTTON-SEED CRU SHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,373, dated July 23,1889.

Appumion m February 10, 1889. Serial No. 300,102. on model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WASHINGTON SIMMONS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Conyers, in the county of Rockdale and State ofGeorgia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cotton SeedCrushers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved machine for crushing anddegerminating cot-tonseeds for fertilizing or feeding purposes, and itsobject is to provide a device of this class which shall be simple inconstruction, dura ble, and which shall not be in danger of be-.

ing clogged or choked, even when run at a high rate of speed.

With these ends in View the invention consists in the construction andarrangement of the crushing-rolls, the hopper, a secondary feedhopper,and a rotary feeding device for conveying the seed from the secondaryinto the main hopper, all as will be hereinafter fully described withreference to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of myimproved seedcrushing device. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3is a longitudinal vertical sectional View.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

A designates the frame of the machine, which is composed of stout beamssuitably bolted or otherwise secured together and mounted upon legs B B.At one end of the frame, upon the upper sides of the side pieces of thesame, are secured the boxes 0 O, in which the crushing-rolls arejournaled. Said boxes are preferablymade of cast-iron and lined withBabbitt metal in the usual manner. Adjustment of the boxes to thejournaled ends of the rolls may be had by inserting pieces of sheet-ironor mill-board between the upper and lower parts of the boxes in thecustomary manner, and for the purpose of regulating the distance betweenthe rolls one or both of the boxes 0 C may be made longitudinallyadjustable upon the sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. The rolls, which are designated by letters D D, may beconstructed of cast-iron, and they may either be smooth orlongitudinally grooved or fluted, or one of the rolls may be smooth andthe other grooved, or they may be siniply rough-turned, whichever may befound most desirable. In the drawings one smooth and one fluted rollerhave been shown. The shaft of the roll D is provided at one end withaband-wheel F, to which motion may be transmitted from any suitableoperating machinery by means of a belt or band E. Motion is, when themachine is in operation, transmitted from the roller D to the roller Dby the frictional contact between the rollers and the material passingbetween them.

K is a suitably-constructed hopper, which is secured directly over thecrushing-rolls, it being connected to the frame by means of braces G G.Arranged above the hopper K, between the sides of the same, andconnected pivotally thereto by means of a transverse shaft R, is asecondary hopper Q, which consists of a box open at the end, which isarranged between the sides of the hopper K. The outer or front end ofthe box or hopper Q is provided with an adjustable prop or support S, bymeans of which the said box Q may be adjusted at any desired angle orinclination, it being, as will be seen, connected pivotally with thehopper K. Motion is conveyed to the shaft R by means of a frictionwheelT mounted thereon and bearing against one of the rolls D or D, which, ifdesired, may be provided with a contact-sleeve of rubber or othersuitable material. The shaft R is provided with a series of radialspoonshaped arms XV WV, which, when the said shaft is revolved, serve totake the seed from the box or hopper Q, and throw it into the hopper Kwhere it will be immediately seized and acted upon by the rollers D D.The rotation of the shaft R may be in either direction, so as to throwthe seed under or over the said shaft. Forthe purpose of cansing theseed to reach the shaft R constantly and without interruption the bottomof the box Q, should be perfectly smooth, and to attain this condition Iprefer to provide it with a false bottom X, made of zinc or othersuitable sheet metal, as will be seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Thehopper Q is provided at its discharge end with a cross-bar or yoke Afrom which a gageboard B is suspended by means of set-screws C for thepurpose of regulating the quantity of material which is fed from theupper into the main hopper. One end of the shaft R extends beyond theside of the hopper and supports a brake-bar D which is pivoted to oneside of the hopper K and provided at its free end with an adjustableweight E by means of which the pressure of the brake-bar upon the shaftB may be regulated, so as to cause the said shaft to revolve at greateror less speed, and consequently supply the material to the hopper K ingreater or less quantity, as may be desired.

The operation of this invention will be readily understood. from theforegoing de scription, taken in connection with the drawings heretoannexed. The seed being placed in the box Q will slide down to the shaftR, by the spoon-shaped projections upon which it will be filled evenlyand constantly into the hopper K, the feed extending over the entirewidth of the hopper, so that the seed will be distributed evenly to thecrushingrolls. One of these rolls is, as has been stated, to be rotatedby friction, and in order to give the necessary start it may be providedat one end with hand-wheel H as shown in the drawings. The feed may beregulated partly by raising or lowering the free end of the box Q, thuscausing the seed to How toward the shaft R more or less rapidly, andpartly by raising or lowering the gage-board 1-3 The machine is notliable to getchoked, because the quantity of seed passing into thehopper K from the supplementary hopper may be so regulated as to notexceed the ca pacity of the crushing-rolls D and D. It will also be seenthat the rolls do not act to grind the seed, but merely to crush itsufficiently to destroy the germ. The seed treated in this way will notheat in bulk, as it is liable to do when ground fine. Consequently thereis no loss of ammonia, and the seed will retain its good qualities foranindefinite length of time.

It may sometimes be found desirable to apply power direct to both of theroller-shafts, and in such case I propose to omit the handwheel H andsubstitute a band-wheel driven from a pulley upon a counter-shaft, whichis to be suitably mounted upon the frame, and which in turn is driven bya belt from a pulley upon the roller-shaft, to which direct motion isimparted.

' Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to seeu re byLetters Patent 1. In a machine for crushing seed, the combination of thecrushing-rolls, a hopper secured above the same, and a secondary hopperconnected pivotally to the main hopper, a shaft passing through thesides of the said hoppers, eonnectin g them pivotally, and hav ing aseries of radial spoon-shaped projecttions, and mechanism for rotatingthe said shaft when the machine is in operation,- substantially as setforth.

2. In a machine for crushing seed, the combination of thecrushing-rolls, a hopper arranged above the samc, a secondary hopperconsisting of a box which is open at one end and connected pivotally atthe said open end to the main hopper, a transverse shaftextendingthrough the sides of said hoppers, connecting them pivotally, asdescribed, and having radial spoon-shaped arms, and a prop or supportattached adj ustably to the free end of the said secondary hopper, whichmay thus be adjusted at any desired inclination, substantially as setforth.

In a machine for crushing seed, the combination of the crushing-rolls, ahopper arranged above the same, a secondary hopper consisting of anopen-ended box pivoted be tween the sides of the main hopper, a transverse shaft extending through the sides of the hoppers, connecting thempivotally, as described, and having radial feed-arms, and avertically-adjustable gage-board arranged at the open end ofthesupplementary hopper, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machinefor crushing seed, the combination of the crushing-rolls,the main hopper, the supplementary hopper, the feed-shaft having radialspoon-shaped feed-arms connecting the latter pivotally to the mainhopper, and a brake-arm pivoted to one side of the main hopper, bearingagainst the upper side of the feed-shaft, and provided at its free endwith an adjustable weight, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

5. In a machine for crushing seed, in which one roll is arranged to berotated by frictional contact with the other roll and with the materialpassing between said rolls, the combination, with the said rolls, of ahand-wheel secured upon one end of the shaft of the loose roll, whichprojects at one side of the frame,

substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. 'In a machine for crushing seed, the combination of thecrushing-rolls, the main hopper, the supplementaryhopper connectedpivotally to the main hopper, a transverse shaft extending through thesides of said hoppers, connecting them pivotally, as described, andhaving radial feed-arms, and a frietionwheel mounted upon thesaidfeed-shaft and bearing against the shaft of one of thecrushing-rolls, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myown I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON SlMMONS.

Vitnesses:

J. s. JOHNSON, JOHN Zacnnv.

